As thousands of Afghans flee their motherland in the Plight of the Taliban, an Instagram Influencer took the helm of aiding them through crowdfunding.
Instagram User Quentin Quarantino, the alter ego of 25-year-old Tommy Marcus of New York City, has reportedly raised over $7 million within days on GoFundMe to launch rescue missions into Afghanistan to evacuate as many people as possible. Their mission, “Operation Flyaway” helped ferry 51 people from Afghanistan to Uganda on a privately chartered plane financed by the campaign.
“It’s beyond humbling that they have that faith in me, that they’re willing to put significant amounts of money into hands that I trust,” Marcus was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
Marcus informed that more than 121,000 people had donated to the campaign after Marcus appealed to his 832,000 followers, making it one of the largest humanitarian fundraisers in GoFundMe’s history.
“I don’t know what word to use besides miraculous, because it’s restored a faith in humanity. We’ve shed the political divisions in this situation and really come together from all walks of life to rally together and save these people because .. they don’t deserve what their future holds if they stay in Afghanistan right now,” said Marcus.
Amongst the evacuated were women, children, humanitarians, and others “who’ve been fighting for the greater good in Afghanistan for a long time,” as well as their families, Marcus said.
He was previously best-known for his liberal memes and his jokes about opponents of COVID-19 vaccinations.
It was confirmed to the AP by Saraya International, a global development firm, and the Rockefeller Foundation, which both provided organizational support for the flight to Uganda, as well as another company involved with the evacuation, that the flight was chartered by the emergency collaboration financed through Marcus’ Go FundMe campaign.
The organizers told Marcus that they were seeking to rescue 300 people who, along with their families, were “at imminent risk of being executed by the Taliban.” And more than 350 people have been rescued, with nearly 300 leaving Kabul on other chartered flights that “Operation Flyaway” reimbursed for providing safe passage from the country, claimed the influencer.
Also, read: This Visual Of A Little Girl Kissing Infant After Landing In India From Kabul Lulls All The Troubles
The nonprofit groups deem the situation there as chaotic and scary as they rushed to fill private chartered flights with people who have the necessary paperwork in the limited time that they can keep their planes on the tarmac.
“I’m so proud of our extraordinary team and what we were able to accomplish in such a short time. I just wish we could’ve done more. Simply put, the institutions failed, and it breaks my heart how much more we could have accomplished. We are grateful we got out as many people as we did against the greatest odds we’ve ever faced,” said Sayara CEO Scott Shadian.
He added that he had met “Operation Flyaway” members on Zoom only earlier in the week and, in the chaos of the Kabul evacuations, was thrilled they agreed to fund the flight.
“They were one of many miracles we experienced in this time. Their last-minute funding, along with the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and other donors, was critical. Without Operation Flyaway’s quick funding, that flight wouldn’t have gotten off the ground,” the CEO said.
North Carolina-based company Raven Advisory said they could pay for the mission using money raised through Marcus’ GoFundMe campaign. The company performs subcontract work for the U.S. military. They said that “an all-volunteer team consisting of former Special Forces soldiers and other veterans with expertise in Afghanistan” worked with the military to coordinate their rescue efforts.
“Our focus was the people who wanted to build their country into something great. They thought they were going to stay there, with us backing them, for the long haul. It’s going be women that work in journalism and teachers. It could be the young people and older people who have been very outspoken against the different atrocities of committed by the Taliban in the past,” said Raven Advisory CEO Sheffield Ford.
The GoFundMe campaign said it will donate whatever money remains to the Washington-based organization International Women’s Media Foundation. According to organizers, the foundation, that supports female journalists, will use the money to “partner with experienced organizations and experts to support people once they are on safe ground.”